The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid taller than an average human that is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.  The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century. However, it is believed that the search to find the Yeti can be traced back to the time of Alexander the Great, who in 326 BC set out to conquer the Indus Valley. Having heard stories of the creature he demanded to see one for himself, but local people told him they were unable to present one because the creatures could not survive at that low an altitude.

Despite many expeditions having been attempted to prove the Yeti’s existence, there is still no concrete evidence to prove it. Sir Edmund Hillary himself searched  for the Yeti. The famed Everest pioneer’s expedition (which had other scientific goals) did document a phenomenon that appears to account for “Yeti tracks.” In shaded snow Hillary’s team found impressions resembling fox tracks. The tracks led to a sunny area where melting had elongated the tracks into large human-like footprints. Likewise, the melting of tracks of a snow leopard, bear, or wolf could create huge “footprints.” Over time, human footprints in the area have been seen to grow to nearly 21 inches (53 centimetres).

Alleged Yeti Encounters.

1832:

During an exploration of the upper regions of Nepal, B.H. Hodgson reported that his Sherpa guides witness a towering non-human cover in dark hair from head to foot. The creature allegedly fled the scene on seeing them.

1904:

A British soldier, William Hugh Knight, claimed he had encountered a Yeti near Gangtok, Sikkim. In 1921, he described the Yeti to The Times newspaper:

‘He was a little under six-feet high. almost stark naked in that bitter cold – it was the month of November. He was a kind of pale yellow all over, about the colour of a Chinaman, a shock of matted hair on his head, little hair on his face, highly splayed feet,  and large, formidable hands. His muscular development in his arms, thighs, legs, back and chest were terrific. He had in his hands what seemed to be some form of primitive bow. He did not see me, but stood there, and watched for some five or  six minutes. So far as I could make out, he was watching some man or beast far down the hillside. At the end of some five minutes he started off on a run down the hill, and I was impressed with the tremendous speed at which he travelled.’

1925:

N.A. Tombazi a Greek photographer while on an expedition to the Himalayas allegedly sighted a humanoid-like creature near Zemu Glacier. The fact that the creature was unclothed in such extremely hostile conditions  made a significant impression on him. Over the period of a minute, and  at a distance of only 200 to 300 yards, he quietly watched the bi-pedal creature as it walked upright  before stopping and uprooting some dwarf rhododendron bushes. Later he was to state “Unquestionably, the figure in outline was exactly like a human being.”

1970:

British mountaineer Don Whillans claimed to have witnessed a creature when scaling Annapurna. He said that while searching for a campsite he heard some odd cries which his guide attributed to a Yeti’s call. That night, he saw a dark shape moving near his camp.

2012:

The MailOnline Article.

Three separate ‘sightings’ of yetis have been made in Siberia in recent weeks, say fishermen and an official in Russia.

All were in the remote Kemerovo region, where around 30 ‘abominable snowmen’ live, according to the country’s leading researcher on the creatures.

In one previously undisclosed case last month near Myski village, fishermen in a boat on a river initially mistook distant figures first for bears and then people, said the Siberian Times

‘We shouted to them – do you need help?,’ said fisherman Vitaly Vershinin.

‘They just rushed away, all in fur, walking on two legs, making their way through the bushes and with two other limbs, straight up the hill.’

He said: “What did we think? It could not be bears, as the bear walks on all-fours, and they ran on two…. so then they were gone.

On a second sighting on the bank of the Mras-Su River several days later, an unnamed fisherman was quoted saying: ‘We saw some tall animals looking like people.

He added: ‘Our binoculars were broken and did not let us see them sharply. We waved at the animals but they did not respond, then quickly ran back into the forest, walking on two legs.

 ‘We realised that they were not in dark clothes but covered by dark fur. They did walk like people’.

Biologists used DNA analysis to examine claims that hair samples attributed to yetis appeared to belong to a scientifically undiscovered species of bear.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2997216/Mystery-yeti-deepens-DNA-analysis-reveals-Abominable-Snowman-hair-does-NOT-belong-unknown-species-bear.html#ixzz3zE9nynIG 

© David Calvert 2016

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